On Halloween, I had an all-day affair on campus which was the Graduate Admissions Day.  I was required to attend if I wanted to even be considered as a candidate into a Graduate Program.

     I had to go to sleep early, get up early, it was... different haha.  But I had my game face on, seriously, the kind of presentation-of-self that you do when you're looking to get a job because, essentially, that's what this is all about, getting a well-paid job in something I'd enjoy.  Maybe not all the time, but it sure as hell beats retail any day.  That type of thing.

     I was all dressed up in my suit jacket and snazzy black pants that I bought in Baker Street Tube station in London one day after work because, while at work, I had ripped my pants hahaha. Oh, the memories!  

     I went in and scribbled my name in red pen on a "Hi, my name is" sticker and took a seat.  I looked at the list of attendees and realized a girl from my Abnormal and Deviant Psych. class was there 'cuz she's going for School Counseling.  There were about 20 of us?  Not that many, which was fine by me, and we were all there for different fields.  Three different areas with positions up for grabs: School Counseling, Student Affairs Counseling, and Mental Health Counseling.
      
      We listened to all the faculty present their respective areas to us, giving us a brief overview of what was expected from each field.  Then, they left the room and a group of about 12 or so graduate students came and talked candidly with all of us, answering our questions about work load, how the professors really are, etc...  It was great and helped ease a lot of my initial tensions to realize that it's like one big family.  A family that I really want to be a part of. 

      Also, I noticed that one of the guys on the panel was someone I knew 'cuz he works at Borders now and then.  He's a cool guy and from what I remembered from our few conversations, his name was Alberto, but, for some reason, his nametag said "Harry".  I was puzzled, but maybe some time it will be revealed as to why he chose that name which is so unlike his actual name.

After that, we were broken up into groups of 4 people or so, and taken into separate rooms. We were given a case-study and we had to talk about what we would do as a member of our particular field. In my group was a guy named Mike, he was going for Student Affairs, Frances was going for Mental Health same as I, and Kristina from my Abnormal and Deviant Psych. class going for School Counseling. We all brought up really good points to consider and we each had good insight. I thought it was good because, not only did we do well individually, but we also did well as a group which shows that we can work well with others. :)

     Then it was time for lunch, in Clinton hahaha!  Oh man.  It was nice though because I sat between Kristin, the girl from my Ab. & Dev. Psych. class and this girl Ashley Krul I do believe who was really sweet and fun to talk to.  We got to sit with some of the professors and talk with them about whatever haha, it was fun.  Plus, we all looked out of place because here we were, all dressed up in our finest attire amongst college students in their pajamas and sweats

     After lunch, we went back, listened to this guy talk for 20mins., then it was time for the Interview portion of the day. I went in and sat across a table from Dr. Stone, a graduate named Erika, and Alberto... or 'Harry' as his nametag said.    But it was still amusing 'cuz I couldn't help looking at him like, "I know you! and you know me! How weird, yet awesome is this? :D"

I think my interview went well. They asked me what I thought my strengths were, my weaknesses, what I thought about Multi-cultural counseling, and a few other things, but they were smiling and nodding their heads so I knew what I was saying was hitting the right chords, so-to-speak. I was just being genuine about my passion for the field and how I see myself as a Counselor.

Once that was done, I got up, was gathering my things together and saw a jacket on the back of a chair so I turned my interviewers and said, "Did someone leave their jacket?" Alberto smiled and said, "No, it's mine." I felt a bit dorky, but hey, just trying to help. :)

I went downstairs to Feinberg 108 to type out the 'written' portion. We were given a card with three questions on it and we had to respond to one. I looked over the questions, picked one, and was off. This part was a piece o' cake because I can write, a lot. Most people were handing in one-page things and here I am with my stapled 3-4 page dealie, but hey, it was double-spaced for easier reading.    The question I chose was: "Write about one event that you feel helped you in your personal growth." I wrote about my time living and working in London.

The reason for this is because after living on my own, 4,000 miles away from family and friends, making my own way in a foreign land, working, getting groceries, doing laundry at the place across the street, only being able to go online from internet cafes, finangling a cell phone (mobile phone ), going to work parties, eating out with friends, and so much more, how could I not have grown from that?

I met people from various countries, I came face-to-face with religion when lots of co-workers started fasting during Ramadan, plus the beautiful mosque right around the corner from Baker St. station that I'd ride by on the bus everyday couldn't be missed. I loved my job working at Madame Tussaud's.  I think it's the only job I've ever had that I truly enjoyed and didn't feel like I was just doing menial labor (e.g. retail). Every day I would go in and I'd have a cool/interesting encounter with someone.

For instance, this one girl came into MT's and she was in a wheelchair, what we'd call over the radio as a 10-16 'cuz yes I got to walk around with a walkie-talkie clipped to my pants!    We always gave disabled people special treatment and helped them out as best we could. It was always heartwarming to interact with these people and their families, but this girl, this girl was special to me.

I met the girl and her family at the door and made sure to talk to the girl because I guess some people just talk to the family members and forget about the person in the chair. She was polite, quiet, and had a soft smile.  I could tell she was in awe of the place. I showed them where to go and that when they wanted to head down to the next floor to just have one of her family members get me or another member of staff and I'd take them down in the lift (elevator).

Eventually, they were ready to head down so I loaded them into the tiny lift and we closed the doors. I asked them how they were enjoying the attraction and the girl's smile was so big. I had my head turned for a moment, when I felt something in my hand. I looked down and saw this girl's hand holding mine and she squeezed it with a smile. We connected in that moment.

The doors opened and she didn't let go of my hand so I walked with her as her parents rolled her out onto the next floor. I then smiled and said, "I have to go back upstairs, but I'll find you again before you leave to say 'goodbye, alright?" This seemed to please her and she let go.

Later on, I heard that she had just gone into the Planetarium show so I was waiting for her to exit so I could head down there like I said I would. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but somehow I had missed her, I think because I was on groups that day as well and had a huge group come in and I had to show them where to go so, while I was doing that, I think she was taken down by someone else to the shop and exit. I can't tell you how bummed I was that I hadn't been able to keep my word to that young girl, but, as you can see, I haven't forgotten her to this day.

There was another story I'll never forget while working at Madame T's. I was working the Planetarium (or Showdome as it was called as well) and I had a guy stand up in the middle of the planets show. I walked over with my flashlight and he told me he was feeling a bit light-headed so I escorted him and his wife outside so they could sit on the steps leading down to the gift shop.

He seemed to be doing alright. His wife kept asking him questions and he was slow to respond, I think her and I both knew something wasn't too right with the situation even though he was saying he was okay. I turned my head to check and make sure my partner in the theater was alright and to see how long we had until the show was done. That's when I heard this loud Thunk!  I turned my head to see the guy laying flat on his back across the landing, his mouth and eyes wide-open and his wife freaking the hell out because he's not responding, shouting "Jim! Jim!" 

I can't tell you how quickly my heart-rate shot through the roof and for a moment, I was paralyzed. All I could do was look at this surreal picture in front of me going, "Is this really happening? Is this guy dying?" Then I snapped myself out of it, grabbed the walkie-talkie and called the code for 10-10 which is an emergency where pretty much all the managers on-site respond, including people with CPR training and such.

I stood there and watched the area around me fill with security personnel and managers.  Ian, my manager, came over to me where I was standing, shaking, watching as the other people got the man back to being responsive, his eyes looking around and then to his wife.

Ian bent down a little to look me in the eyes and said, "You alright?" I just said, "Yeah, I'm alright," even though I honestly didn't know what I was feeling in that moment, I just didn't want a lot of questions. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug. I was glad for that because I was still visibly shaking from the adrenaline.

I think that was the only really dramatic moment I had while I was there that I can recall. But regardless of that, the people I worked with were fantastic and made being there loads of fun. We were this big team, a family of sorts, and I only wished I could've done it for a bit longer.

Therefore, given all my experiences over there with friends, getting to visit relatives in Yorkshire, seeing the countryside via the train from King's Cross, spending time off in Battersea Park just across the Chelsea Bridge, watching fireworks over the Thames for Guy Fawkes Day, getting the flu, getting my wisdom teeth removed, having a British bank account with NatWest, almost getting a job working for a top hair salon that had Orlando Bloom as a client but that couldn't hire me because my visa wasn't long enough, seeing Regent's Street at Christmas time, eating at the Rainforest Cafe with the dancing gorillas, doing the Running-Cabbage dance that I made-up, dancing to the techno ringtone on my phone and swirling it around in the dark like a glo-stick, having to top-up an electricity meter 'cuz if we didn't then the power would go out hahaha, having to evade the authorities for stealing 4 channels with rabbit ears and one of them was always fuzzy anyway, having some random kid throw oranges at pedestrians from a moving car, etc....

I don't know how I could not have been changed by all that.

Now, as the subject says, I'm doing the 'waiting game'. I'm not sure when exactly, but I'm supposed to get a letter in the mail sometime soon, letting me know if I've been accepted into the Graduate Program or not. As I said before, I think I did really well on the group part, the interview part, and the written part, plus I had great recommendations, etc... I just really hope they see my passion and desire to be a part of the Mental Health Program.

Apparently, they have a working relationship with Planned Parenthood and when Dr. Stone mentioned that I was doing a happy dance on the inside. I wouldn't mind doing my internship there because I want to be a counselor to adolescents and adults and help them with relationship issues and sexual issues. I'm also, more recently, becoming interested in the area of domestic violence, especially in same-sex relationships because I'm doing a research paper on that very topic and finding out some interesting things. Right now I'm taking an entire course on "Adolescence" which will help when I'm dealing with people in that age bracket.

So, I'm just hopeful about my chances because I really see myself doing this and enjoying this work. Like all jobs, there are no doubt cons and there will be things about counseling I won't like, but I'm hopeful that the chance to help someone become better able to function in society and to better communicate with themselves and loved ones will outweigh all that.

Now, I'm going to do some homework for my class tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me, say a prayer, wish me luck, whatever your thing is and I'll let you know what happens. Take care!

*~Adrienne~*